Bound and Broken
by Fishy Biscuits
Summary: The story of the Nine Bright Shiners, and the events leading up to the first binding and breaking of Orannis. Involves the creation of the Charter, the binding of Yrael, and Astarael's darker side... Complete.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Nine Shiners or any of the Old Kingdom. They all belong to Garth Nix._

* * *

Chapter 1

The sun burnt bright orange, in stark contrast to the darkening sky. A light, mid-summer breeze blew gently through the long grass, catching the delicate, lilac skirt of the tall, pale woman who stood gazing at the setting sun. She smiled and turned to her companion, taking his hand in hers, expecting him to look back at her with the same adoring expression. Instead, he remained staring at the burning orange orb hanging low on the horizon, his face expressionless but his dark eyes reflecting the fiery colour of the sunset.

The woman sighed wistfully and looked back at the sky, still smiling. 'It's beautiful, isn't it?' she asked softly, moving slightly closer to her companion and resting her head on his shoulder. 'The way the light reflects off the clouds, and the colour of the sky.' She paused, expecting an equally awe-struck response. 'Don't you think it's beautiful?' she asked, directly addressing her companion this time.

He, however, was still silent, his expression unchanged.

'Orannis?' she asked, lifting her head from his shoulder and looking at him questioningly.

Orannis eventually sighed and faced her. 'What?' he asked in a bored manner.

She laughed, failing to pick up on his boredom. 'I was saying, don't you think it's beautiful?'

'Do I think what's beautiful?'

'The sunset, silly,' she answered playfully, gazing back at it.

'Oh.' Orannis' voice was still devoid of emotion, very unlike hers. 'It's the same as it is every night, Astarael.'

Astarael blinked at him. 'How can you say that?' she asked, putting her arms loosely around him. 'Every night it changes; the colour of the sky, the shape of the clouds, the way the Ratterlin reflects the light… None of it is the same two nights in a row.'

'If you say so,' Orannis sighed. He was, very obviously, tired of staring at the sky and he couldn't see what Astarael found so beautiful. 'We've been out for a while, though,' he added, a patronising tone to his voice. 'Won't your friends be wondering where you are?'

'I don't think they'll worry. Not yet, at least. It's not that late.' Astarael glanced at the towering mountains behind her, which were white with snow, even in the middle of the summer.

Orannis sighed. It looked like this would be quite a long night.

* * * * * * *

The sun had set at least two hours ago, Orannis knew. He glanced sideways at Astarael, who had fallen asleep soon after she thought he had. He had the urge to just get up and leave her there, but that would ruin their relationship, and that would ruin his plans. He didn't know much about the friends Astarael lived with, but he did know they were all powerful Free Magic beings, much like him, and that meant they might be useful.

Still, he was still very bored, and it was starting to get cold. The cold didn't bother him much - he could easily use magic to warm up - but it was an excuse to end his evening with Astarael. Gently, he shook her shoulder.

'Time to wake up,' he whispered in her ear.

'How late is it?' Astarael asked, a little groggily, looking straight up at the now-dark sky.

'It's getting quite late,' Orannis answered, trying to sound as caring as possible. 'It's been properly dark for a while now. I guess they'll be getting worried now.'

'They probably will,' Astarael agreed, sighing, and Orannis helped her to her feet. They walked, hand in hand, a little further up the river, then stared at the water and the looming silhouettes of the mountains for a while before Orannis finally let go of Astarael's hand.

'Well, good night,' he said, a little too formally. He hesitated briefly. 'I guess they'll ask you where you've been, won't they?'

'Even if they don't, I won't keep this a secret,' Astarael answered, her eyes gleaming. 'Will I see you again?'

'I suppose so. How about tomorrow night?' Orannis reluctantly suggested, mentally reminding himself of the reason he was doing this.

'I can't wait already,' Astarael smiled eagerly. She was clearly about to say more, but Orannis was fed up of listening to her poetic waffling now, so he drew her close and quickly kissed her. She seemed surprised at first, but then she relaxed and returned his kiss. When they broke apart, Astarael's eyes were shining with happiness.

Orannis watched her change fluidly into the form of a small, pale grey moth and flutter out of sight, and then he turned and made his way back across the grass.

* * * * * * *

Astarael expected the others to be asleep when she got back under the mountain; Ranna usually got her way when it got that late. She slipped through the silent, stone hallways as quietly as she could and had just opened the door of her private room, when someone pulled her into a crushing embrace from behind, dark hair tickling her cheek.

'Dyrim!' Astarael whispered. 'I thought you'd be asleep!'

'Of course we're not. Well, Ranna probably is, but the rest of us aren't,' Dyrim answered, releasing Astarael. 'So, where have you been then?' Her clear, grey eyes glittered expectantly.

'I was watching the sunset, as usual,' Astarael answered, blushing involuntarily and hiding behind her long, raven hair.

Dyrim raised one eyebrow, grinned excitedly. 'And…? That can't be all you were doing. You've been out for hours, and the sun set ages ago.'

'I was with… someone,' Astarael explained, still blushing and making it obvious that she was hiding something, which made Dyrim naturally more eager to make her reveal everything.

'With who?' Dyrim asked, growing increasingly excited. 'Oh, wait a moment; I'll call the others so they can hear. You need to tell us everything.' She turned to call down the hallway. 'Astarael's back! Come out here! You have to hear what she's been doing!'

Almost immediately, four more women appeared from the various rooms off the passage. Dyrim watched as they came nearer and then turned to Ranna, who had evidently just been woken up by Dyrim's voice as she was wearing a white night dress and had her golden hair tied in a long braid down her back.

'Where's Saraneth?'

Ranna yawned and shrugged her shoulders. 'I think she's still in her room. She said she'd be busy for a while.'

'Oh well,' Dyrim shrugged. 'Let's hear about Astarael's evening then.'

'Do you want me to see what Saraneth's doing?' Mosrael asked, glancing at the one door that remained closed with her pale green eyes.

'No, leave her,' Ranna advised. 'She told me she didn't want to be disturbed. I'm sure she'll come down when she's finished whatever she's up to.'

'It's her loss,' Dyrim said quickly, pushing Astarael into her room and sitting her down on the edge of her bed. The other four followed and sat near them, waiting impatiently for Astarael to start talking.

'So,' Dyrim started, eagerly leaning forward. 'Tell the others where you were.'

Again, Astarael blushed. 'I was watching the sunset, as usual,' she explained.

'And what about the three hours after that?' Kibeth asked, raising one eyebrow, much like Dyrim had earlier.

'She said she was with someone,' Dyrim stated, casting a sideways wink at Ranna, who rolled her eyes.

'With who?' Kibeth asked, casually flicking a few strands of her auburn hair out of her face.

'I was with a man,' Astarael grinned after a short pause, which was mainly for dramatic effect.

The pause got the required reaction. Belgaer stopped examining the ceiling and stared at her, Kibeth tried to hide the huge grin that had spread across her face, Mosrael let out an involuntarily excited gasp, and Ranna tried, and failed, to hide the look of utter disbelief on her face. Dyrim gave a characteristically giggly squeal.

'What's his name?' Dyrim asked after they had calmed down a little.

'Orannis,' Astarael answered, blushing brighter red. 'He's a Free Magic being, just like us.'

'What was he like?' Kibeth asked.

Astarael flicked her hair behind her shoulders. 'He's so romantic,' she sighed happily, gazing dreamily at the wall behind Dyrim. 'I was watching the sun set, and then he came along and started saying all these beautiful, poetic things about it. It was so wonderful. He's so sensitive and gentle, and he wants to see me again tomorrow night.'

'You forgot to mention the rather passionate moment you shared just before you flew back here,' Mosrael added with a knowing wink.

Astarael looked at her, surprised. 'How did you know about that?' she asked. 'Were you spying on us?'

'No, silly. Nothing can hide from me, remember? My sight improves so much when I'm in my dragonfly form, and I'm small and inconspicuous, so you wouldn't notice me even if I'm right next to you.

'I don't suppose you'd care to elaborate on this "rather passionate moment", would you?' Dyrim asked, grinned cheekily.

'We just kissed, that's all,' Astarael explained. 'Nothing that exciting, Dyrim.'

'Still,' Dyrim sighed happily. 'I bet Saraneth will be annoyed that she missed hearing this.'

'Missed hearing what?' asked a voice from the doorway.

The others turned to see Saraneth leaning casually against the wall, just inside the room. Once she had been noticed, Saraneth straightened up and walked towards them, casting an expectant look at Ranna, who quickly shifted position to make a space between herself and Astarael.

'So,' Saraneth said as she sat down, running a hand quickly through her raven hair. 'What's going on then? Where were you?'

'You sound like you're her mother,' Dyrim commented jokily. Saraneth shot an irritated glare in her direction. 'Well, you do,' Dyrim shrugged. 'If you'd come when I called you, you wouldn't have missed what Astarael was saying.'

'I was busy,' Saraneth answered shortly, making it clear that she was not going to elaborate further. 'Are any of you going to tell me what you were so excited about, or not?'

'Astarael was telling us where she was,' Belgaer explained.

'And about who she was with,' Kibeth added.

'Oh?' Saraneth turned to Astarael, who tried not to blush again. 'You were with someone?'

'She was with a man,' Mosrael cut in, before Astarael had a chance to speak.

Saraneth looked at Astarael, waiting for her to say more. Astarael shifted slightly.

'Well, there's not much more to say, really,' she admitted. 'They've said it all for me.'

'It sounded to me like you'd told them a bit more than that; I could hear Dyrim squeaking. Surely you won't mind telling it all over again, if it was as exciting as Dyrim seems to think it is.'

'In all honesty,' Belgaer said innocently, 'Dyrim gets excited if one of us changes our favourite colour, so her squealing isn't really the best way of telling how exciting something is.'

Dyrim glared at Belgaer and both Ranna and Saraneth suppressed a laugh.

'Are you implying that Astarael's story wasn't very interesting?' Kibeth asked.

'No, that wasn't what I meant,' Belgaer replied quickly. 'Sorry if it sounded that way,' she added quietly to Astarael.

'It's fine,' Astarael shrugged.

'Anyway, finish what you were saying about your evening with this man,' Saraneth prompted.

'We just watched the sunset, that's all,' Astarael finished.

'He made some rather poetic comments, you said earlier,' Mosrael reminded her.

'"He's so romantic",' Dyrim mimicked. 'Those were your exact words, I recall.'

'He was,' Astarael admitted, not bothering to hide the silly grin that had spread across her face. 'He was saying all these beautiful things about the sunset. He was just so wonderful.'

'It sounds like you're really taken with him, then,' Saraneth smiled. 'Good for you. It's about time one of us found ourselves a decent man.'

Ranna raised an eyebrow. '"Decent" meaning someone other than Yrael, I'm guessing?'

'Definitely,' Dyrim and Belgaer agreed simultaneously.

'So, what's your dream man's name, then?' Saraneth asked.

Astarael smiled again. 'Orannis.'

Saraneth's smile faded instantly and, for a moment, she had an odd expression on her face that none of the others could identify. Then, without another word, she stood up and swept quickly back out the room and out of sight.

* * *

_This is the first story I've posted, so please let me know what you think of it!_


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I love you! Here's the next chapter...

_Disclaimer: I own nothing, it all belongs to Garth Nix._

* * *

Chapter 2

Saraneth had been asleep, or at least pretending to be when Ranna visited on her later that night, so there was no opportunity to question her about her strange behaviour until the next morning. Not content with the lack of explanation, however, Dyrim had invented her own theory by the morning and wasted no time in sharing it with the others.

Being the one who knew Saraneth best, Ranna was sure that Dyrim's explanation was wrong; she knew Saraneth would not be jealous of Astarael for being the first to find a lover. Saraneth had never expressed any interest in that sort of thing, and it was Orannis' name that had made her react in the way she did, and not the news that Astarael was in love.

Ranna tried to explain this but Dyrim, being Dyrim, drowned Ranna's voice out with her own. Eventually, Ranna grew so annoyed with Dyrim that she was forced to take a deep breath and calmly remove herself from the situation to avoid starting a very uncharacteristic argument.

It was past midday already, and Saraneth had yet to be seen outside of her room, so Ranna decided to see if she was alright. It was not uncommon for Saraneth to spend a lot of time on her own, but she rarely avoided the others for that long. Ranna figured that, if Saraneth was not in the mood to be sociable, she stood the best chance of cheering her up. She also had the smallest chance of being subjected to one of Saraneth's infamous glares.

Just as Ranna was about to knock on the door to Saraneth's room, a flash of golden light briefly came from inside. Curious and a little puzzled, Ranna paused and pressed her ear to the door, trying to hear what was going on, but she heard nothing. A few moments later, another golden flash illuminated the floor, lasting for a fraction longer time than before.

'Saraneth?' Ranna called, her curiosity growing even more. She heard a quiet curse from inside the room before Saraneth answered.

'Who is it?'

'It's Ranna,' Ranna replied. 'What are you doing?'

'Nothing. Why do you ask?'

'I was wondering if you were alright, that's all,' Ranna answered. 'You haven't come out of your room yet. It's past midday already.'

'I know. I've been busy,' Saraneth explained vaguely.

Ranna raised her eyebrows. She could always tell when Saraneth was hiding something, and it was usually very difficult to get the information out of her.

'What have you been busy with? Making that light?' Ranna asked before she could stop herself. She was still interested in the source of that light; it had felt like a Free Magic spell and also not like one at the same time. There was a long pause before Saraneth spoke again.

'I didn't know you'd seen that.'

'It was hard not to notice it, seeing as I was standing right out here.'

Ranna heard Saraneth sigh in annoyance. Evidently the source of that light was something she had intended to keep a secret.

'Can I come in?' Ranna asked tentatively, after another awkward pause.

'If you want to.'

Slowly, Ranna pushed open the door and entered the room. Saraneth was sitting on the edge of her bed and her dark eyes followed Ranna as she came to sit beside her. Realising that she had only been in this room once before, Ranna took a brief look around before becoming aware that Saraneth's eyes were still on her.

'You're staring at me,' she pointed out, trying to stare back, but finding Saraneth's gaze too intimidating.

'I know,' Saraneth replied, without blinking.

Ranna shifted a little on the bed. 'It's unnerving.'

Saraneth grinned mischievously. 'I know.'

Ranna rolled her eyes, trying not to laugh. Saraneth was also struggling to keep a straight face.

'Stop it.'

'No.'

'Why?'

'Because I don't want to.'

Ranna gave Saraneth a playful shove. 'Irritating being.'

Saraneth shoved her back. 'You love it.'

'I suppose it's better than having you in one of your antisocial moods,' Ranna agreed, a little more seriously.

'Since when do I have antisocial moods?' Saraneth asked, pretending to be offended at Ranna's comment.

'Well, you were in a bit of one at the end of last night,' Ranna answered. 'What was that about, anyway? None of us have had the chance to ask you about it yet. You left so quickly after Astarael mentioned –'

'I know,' Saraneth interrupted.

'So what was that about?'

'It was nothing. I just remembered that I'd forgotten to do something in here, that's all. It was a little urgent, so I had to go quickly.'

Ranna was far from convinced. 'The sooner you tell me why you disappeared like that, the sooner we can get Dyrim to stop giving everyone her own explanation.'

'What's she been saying?' Saraneth asked, looking a little worried, her voice quieter than usual.

'She says you're jealous of Astarael because she's found a lover before you have,' Ranna explained quickly. 'I kept telling her that she's wrong, but you know what she can be like sometimes. I'd just like to know the real reason. We all would.'

'You don't need to know,' Saraneth said shortly, looking away from Ranna. 'It's a long story, and it's one I prefer to keep to myself.'

Ranna studied Saraneth's expression carefully. She could tell that she was hiding something that was hurting her in some way, but it was clear that she was adamant about keeping it to herself.

'You knew him, didn't you?' Ranna asked after a few minutes of silence.

'Who?' Saraneth asked, looking up.

'Orannis.'

Saraneth flinched at the name and sighed heavily, looking away again. 'Yes,' she answered reluctantly.

'Is that why you reacted so strangely last night? Because you know something about him that we don't?'

'You could say that,' Saraneth answered quietly.

'Does Astarael need to know it, whatever it is?' Ranna asked. She was slightly surprised that she was getting proper answers from Saraneth – a sure sign that she was hiding more than she was giving away.

'It'd be better if she did know,' Saraneth replied. 'The problem is that she won't want to hear it. If anyone tries to tell her, she won't like it so she won't listen.'

'You could always try,' Ranna suggested. 'She said she was seeing him again tonight, so you may want to tell her soon, before she leaves.'

Saraneth sighed. 'She really loves him, doesn't she?'

Ranna nodded. 'You heard what she was like last night. She's completely besotted.'

'Then it's going to be hard to get her to believe what I have to tell her,' Saraneth said gravely. She stood up and made her way to the door, Ranna following.

'What is it that you need to tell her?' Ranna asked just as Saraneth reached the door, not sure how much of an answer she was going to get.

Saraneth paused in the doorway. 'He's dangerous.' Then she left the room before Ranna could comment.

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_Read and review, people! You know you want to..._


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks again to all my lovely reviewers! :-) *hugs*_

_Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own anything except the plotline._

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Chapter 3

Saraneth found Astarael in Dyrim's bedroom, talking excitedly to Dyrim and Kibeth about her plans for that evening. Saraneth listened to their enthusiastic conversation for a few minutes before sighing and knocking on the door, which was opened almost immediately by a grinning Dyrim.

'Oh, hello,' she exclaimed, clearly not expecting to see Saraneth there.

'Hello,' Saraneth answered quickly. She looked past Dyrim's shoulder at Astarael, who was sitting on the floor, leaning against the side of Dyrim's bed. 'Astarael, I need to talk to you.'

Astarael instantly stopped smiling at Kibeth and started to look worried. This did not sound good.

'In private,' Saraneth added, noticing Astarael giving Kibeth a look that clearly said 'help'.

Slowly, Astarael stood up and obediently followed Saraneth out of the room. Once the door was closed, Saraneth turned to face her. She was about to start talking when she realised that Kibeth and Dyrim had not resumed their conversation, which almost definitely meant that they were trying to eavesdrop.

'We'll talk outside,' Saraneth announced, turning again and leading the way along the passage that led out of the mountain. Astarael followed close behind, although she was dreading what Saraneth was going to say. From the expression on her face, it was obviously not going to be anything light-hearted.

Saraneth didn't say anything as they walked, save for a few words of Free Magic that caused the outline of a door to appear on a stone wall that she had paused in front of. She pushed the door open and indicated for Astarael to go through before her, up a long flight of steps that eventually led to a relatively flat terrace that had been worn into the mountainside by Kibeth, who frequently took walks there.

At the furthest end of this terrace, Saraneth stopped. 'Ranna tells me that you're planning to go out again tonight,' she said, almost casually. Astarael stopped too and nodded nervously. She found Saraneth a little frightening up close.

'Don't go,' Saraneth advised as gently as she could.

'Why?' asked Astarael in a small voice.

Saraneth took a deep breath before replying. 'He's dangerous,' she explained slowly. 'He's not what he seems to be, and I don't want you getting hurt.' She hesitated for a moment before adding; 'I'm not just talking about the hurt that love can cause, either.'

'How can he be dangerous?' Astarael protested. 'He'd never hurt me! He loves me!'

'I know it seems that way, but he's not really like that. He's putting it on, pretending to love you so that you let your guard down and give him the perfect chance to destroy everything you care about. You need to believe me. He doesn't love you.'

Astarael was shocked at first, but then she heard Dyrim's voice in her head and remembered what she had said that morning: 'She's just jealous of you, Astarael. I expect she wanted to be the first of us to find a lover, and you've beaten her to it. You know what she's like; she won't admit to it, but I reckon that's what it is – jealousy.'

'Why should I believe you?' Astarael asked, her voice suddenly stronger and angrier. 'You don't know him. You've never even met him! I _know_ him, Saraneth. I love him, and I know that he's not dangerous or anything else you say he is and I know he loves me!' Astarael could feel a strange sense of anger welling up uncontrollably inside her and she found that she was suddenly able to return Saraneth's intense stare.

'I'm telling you this for your own good,' Saraneth replied, abandoning whatever hope she had of having a calm conversation. 'I don't care what Dyrim has said to you about me being jealous of you; it's all rubbish.' Astarael wondered if Saraneth had read her mind. 'I don't want to see you get hurt, do you understand? You've only met him once, so you can't say that you know him well.'

'That may be so, but you've never even seen him, so I know him much better than you do. I don't care what you say. I love him!' Astarael felt hot, angry tears spill over and she wiped them away quickly. 'I will see him if I want to, and there's nothing you can do to stop me.'

With that, Astarael turned and ran along the remainder of the terrace, transforming into the grey moth just as she reached the end of it. Saraneth watched her flutter away, knowing there would be no point in following her. She just wished Astarael would listen to her.

* * * * * * *

Without much conscious thought, Astarael flew further south than she usually did and ended up by the shore of the Red Lake. It was far enough away from the mountains for her to be quite sure that Saraneth had not followed her, but she could find no other identifiable reason for going there.

Saraneth's words still echoed through her mind, no matter how hard she tried to shut them out. She refused to believe what Saraneth had told her, but there was a lingering sense of doubt now that constantly tugged at the back of her mind.

'Stop it,' Astarael scolded herself quietly. 'Stop it. She's wrong. She doesn't know anything about him. Stop listening to her.'

Still, Saraneth's voice rang inside her head, refusing to let her ignore it. 'He's dangerous,' Astarael kept hearing. 'He doesn't love you. He'll destroy everything you care about.'

'I won't believe you,' Astarael said, not aware that she had spoken out loud. 'He's not like that. He can't be.'

'What if he is?' asked a nagging voice in the back of her mind. Not Saraneth's voice this time, she realised, but her own. 'He can't be,' she whispered again, more tears pooling in the corners of her eyes and eventually spilling over.

* * * * * * *

Orannis was quite surprised to find Astarael by the Red Lake; she rarely strayed far from her northern home in the mountains. She was crying rather noisily, and Orannis quickly decided to ignore her and leave before she noticed his presence, so he wouldn't have to comfort her. He had just started walking back the way he had come when Astarael looked up, saw him and called his name. He rolled his eyes in annoyance and came to sit beside her.

'What's wrong?' Orannis asked, seeing Astarael look expectantly up at him.

'She's trying to make me hate you, and she's saying that you're dangerous and that you don't love me.'

'Who is?'

'Saraneth.'

Astarael waited for Orannis' response, but he did not seem to be paying attention to her any longer. He was staring into the distance, his mind unwillingly repeating that name over and over, fuelling the small, initially dormant fires in his eyes.

Astarael watched him, curious by his obvious distraction and the strange expression that was crossing his face; an expression made up of so many contrasting emotions, it was hard to distinguish any of them.

'Orannis?'

The sound of her voice brought Orannis back from his thoughts and the memories he wasn't sure he still wanted. Astarael watched the flames in his eyes calm a little as he looked back at her and put his arm around her shoulders.

'What would she know?' he said dismissively.

'She's only saying all that because she's jealous,' Astarael added, echoing Dyrim's theory.

'Well, don't worry about her,' Orannis said, as gently as he could. 'What about the others? Do they agree with her?'

'I'm not sure,' Astarael sniffed, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. 'She hasn't said anything to them. I don't think Dyrim will believe her, though, and neither will Kibeth, but Ranna always sides with Saraneth, and I'm not sure about Mosrael or Belgaer.'

'I'm sure everything will be fine,' Orannis replied soothingly. 'Once the majority of them believe you, it shouldn't be too hard to sway the last few. Even if one of them does happen to be too stubborn for her own good,' he added bitterly.

'I suppose you're right. Saraneth and Ranna can both be pretty stubborn, and even more so if they're together on something.'

'Saraneth would be more stubborn, I take it?'

Astarael nodded and gave a short, humourless laugh. 'How did you guess?' she asked sarcastically. She didn't see Orannis raise his eyebrows in a knowing way.

'The others will have to believe you now, anyway,' he said after a short pause. 'You've cheered up, so you just have to point out that I wouldn't bother cheering you up if I didn't love you. That should help to get them on our side.'

'Providing Saraneth hasn't got there first,' Astarael added.

Orannis nodded. 'If she has, there's no chance of them changing their minds, unless she lets them.'

Astarael decided not to ask how he knew that.

'You should go, just in case she has got there first,' Orannis advised, standing up and helping Astarael to her feet. 'The sooner you get back, the more chance you have of persuading the others that you're right.'

Astarael nodded, but she was already starting to dread what Saraneth was going to say when she returned. She gave Orannis a quick kiss on the cheek and walked away, resuming her moth form as she went.

Orannis watched her fly off into the night, and then the flames in his eyes grew fierce once again as he glared in the direction in which Astarael had gone, seeing more than he would normally see. He could see the glaciated mountains that Astarael lived in, and he could already see her landing on and crossing the snow-covered terrace overlooking the glacier itself.

He could also see the raven-haired woman standing at the end of the terrace, the breeze making her deep-blue dress swirl around her as she waited for Astarael to return, and the sight of her sent odd shivers running through his whole body, the fires burning uncontrollably within his eyes.

* * *

_Just so you know, yes that was the same terrace bit that Lirael goes to when she's thinking about committing suicide, but the Paperwing hanger isn't there yet. I dunno why, but it makes sense to me that the Bright Shiners used to live in the deeper parts of the Glacier. It would explain why that room that Lirael finds her Remembrancy stuff in had Charter and Free Magic in it, and why the Dog was down there..._

_Anyway, please review!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! I love you all! ;-) Here's the next chapter..._

_Disclaimer: I still don't own any of the Shiners or the Old Kingdom._

* * *

Chapter 4

Astarael almost turned back when she saw Saraneth waiting for her on the snowy terrace. She was not keen on having another conversation like their previous one, but there seemed to be no way to avoid it; Saraneth's eyes were fixed on her before she had fully resumed her human shape. Trying her best to ignore Saraneth and walk straight past her, Astarael made her way briskly to the top of the steps that led back inside the mountain with her eyes fixed on the ground.

'Astarael,' Saraneth called. 'We still need to talk.'

'What about?' Astarael replied frostily, glaring at the steps.

'I need to finish what I was trying to say earlier.'

'Oh, really?' Astarael paused just inside the icy passageway, her voice laced with sarcasm. 'Well, good luck with that.' She then walked briskly away, her footsteps echoing noisily as she stomped down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, she looked back up them to see if Saraneth had followed her down. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the stairs were empty, and then turned – only to find herself staring directly into Saraneth's eyes.

'I take it you didn't have a very good evening,' Saraneth commented unsympathetically.

'Actually, I had a very good evening until I came back here and saw you,' Astarael retorted.

'And why would seeing me change your mood so quickly?' Saraneth asked, folding her arms across her chest and raising her eyebrows.

'Because I knew you would try and tell me all these stupid lies you've made up about Orannis.' Astarael was trying not to raise her voice too much; the last thing she wanted was for Ranna to overhear their conversation and come to back Saraneth up.

'You still refuse to believe what I told you, then?'

'I see no reason to believe it. He cheered me up, and I _was _in a good mood until I came back here. If he is evil or dangerous or whatever else you say he is, he shouldn't have been able to do that.'

Saraneth took a deep breath, trying to control the frustration that was building up inside her. 'As I said before, he's only pretending.'

'How would you know?' Astarael snapped. 'You keep trying to tell me what he's like, acting like you know him better than I do, but I know it's all a lie. There's no point in pretending that you've met him, Saraneth, because I know you haven't.'

'And how would you know that?' Saraneth argued.

Astarael faltered. 'I... I just do,' she replied. 'He's never mentioned you.'

'I wouldn't have expected him to,' Saraneth answered, shrugging her shoulders. 'I've never mentioned him either, and it has been a while since we last met.'

'It can't have been that long ago,' Astarael said quietly. 'He hasn't been here for very long.'

'I didn't meet him here,' Saraneth replied, her voice carefully emotionless. 'It was in another world – my world – so it was before I met you or any of the others.'

'Your world?'

'The one I was supposed to protect, like you're supposed to protect this one.'

'Why aren't you there now?' Astarael asked. 'You can't be protecting it if you're here.'

Saraneth sighed sadly and looked away. 'There's nothing left there for me to protect.'

'What do you mean?'

'I failed it, and it burned. Nothing lives there anymore. There are no traces of life at all.'

'And where does Orannis fit in with all this?' Astarael asked, surprised at the pain in Saraneth's voice.

'Where doesn't he fit in with it?' Saraneth muttered sarcastically to herself. 'As I already said, I met him in my world, when it was full of life and not much different from this world, and...' She hesitated for a moment. 'And when I first met him, I felt the same way about him as you do now.'

Astarael let out an involuntary gasp. 'You mean, you loved him?'

Saraneth nodded and Astarael's eyes widened. She couldn't quite imagine Saraneth in love; she seemed far too independent.

'So Dyrim was partly right, then,' Astarael couldn't help adding. 'You are jealous.'

Saraneth gave a short, humourless laugh and shook her head. 'No. I loved him then, but that doesn't mean that I still do. I guess I was a lot like you at first; I thought we were perfect together, I believed that he loved me back, and I didn't think anything could ever change that.' She fiddled with the ring on her finger, the silver band flashing in a non-existent light.

'We'd just had such a wonderful evening together,' Saraneth continued. 'The next morning, there was a thunder storm in full swing, and he was just standing in the middle of the meadow that we always went to, staring up at the sky in a funny way, so I went over to him to see what was wrong. When I got near to him, he just pulled me close and kissed me, and then I felt this surge of Free Magic inside him and he started to glow. I didn't know what was happening to him, and he didn't let me pull away, and the next thing I knew, waves of heat started to burst from him and everything was burnt to the ground.'

'Everything?' Astarael asked, her voice almost inaudible with a mixture of shock and dread.

'Everything,' Saraneth answered, her voice equally quiet. 'The grass, the trees, even the rocks melted and the river evaporated, just in first wave. I kept trying to push myself away from him and trying to make him stop, but he wasn't listening to me anymore. He just sent out more and more heat waves, burning literally everything on the planet. I could feel everything die, just like you can feel when anything dies here, and all I could do was scream at him. I couldn't get away from him, and he wasn't stopping. I just had to watch my world die right in front of me while I was pretty much powerless.'

_Stop it_, Astarael pleaded silently. _Please, just stop it. It can't be true, it can't be._ She closed her eyes and tried to find some reason for Saraneth to be lying. Saraneth could almost read Astarael's thoughts in her pained expression, and she felt a little sympathetic.

'I know why you're feeling like that,' she said softly, placing her hand gently on Astarael's shoulder. 'I just wanted to wake up and find that I was just having a nightmare, but the pain of feeling everything die was all too real. Obviously, though, seeing what he'd done inevitably changed my feelings for him.'

Astarael was trying hard to keep her tears at bay, although one or two managed to escape occasionally. 'Why didn't anything happen to you?'

'I don't know,' Saraneth replied. 'I think he was protecting me by keeping me so close to him and not letting me get away, but I don't know why he bothered. In all honesty, I wanted to burn with it. It felt like the proper thing to do; I had failed to protect that world, so I should have paid the price. But then, it was over and he let me go. All I could think of doing was getting as far away from him as possible.'

'And he just left you?' Astarael asked. 'Even though he loved you?'

'I find it hard to believe that he actually did love me,' Saraneth replied. 'And yes, he did just leave me there after I refused to go with him. I couldn't even look at him anymore. I don't know how long I stayed there; there was so much dust in the sky, I couldn't see the sun or tell what time of day it was, but eventually I flew to the nearest place I could find and started trying to find a way to make him pay for what he'd done.'

'That's when you came here,' Astarael finished. She closed her eyes for a long time. 'Why haven't you mentioned any of this before?' she asked, still trying to overpower the parts of her that just wanted to scream at Saraneth and run back to Orannis.

'Mostly because it hurts so much to even think about it, let alone talk about it,' Saraneth answered. 'And also because I'm ashamed of how easy it was for him to fool me into letting my guard down. I should have been more wary of him. I was just stupid.'

Astarael was about to comment, but she could have sworn that a single tear had just rolled down Saraneth's cheek and she suddenly didn't know what to say. She didn't think that anyone, not even Ranna, had ever seen Saraneth cry.

'You had to know,' Saraneth sighed, hurriedly brushing her tear away. 'At least so that you'll be prepared for what's to come. That's the only reason he's here, Astarael – to destroy this world in the same way that he destroyed mine, and I don't want you to make it as easy for him as I did.'

'How am I supposed to stop him, though?' Astarael asked. 'You said that you couldn't do anything to stop him, so what can I do?'

'I don't think any of us can stop him on our own, but we might have a chance if all seven of us stand together against him.'

'All eight of us, if we include Yrael. He's meant to help me protect this world, after all,' Astarael added. 'I want to give Orannis the chance to just leave without doing anything, though.'

Saraneth gave a small nod. 'I suppose it's worth a try, but don't be too optimistic.'

'I'll try not to,' Astarael answered, turning slowly and walking back up the stairs.

It took Saraneth a while to realise that Ranna was standing a few metres away, a strange look in her eyes.

'I know we shouldn't have been eavesdropping,' she began quietly, 'but we couldn't help overhearing what you were saying to Astarael. I hope you don't mind,' she added apologetically.

'I don't mind,' Saraneth sighed. 'I suppose I kept it to myself for long enough.'

'The thing is,' Ranna continued, 'the way you said your world was destroyed felt familiar to all of us.'

'In what way?' Saraneth asked, giving Ranna a puzzled look.

Ranna hesitated before she answered. 'We each lost our own worlds in a similar way.'

* * *

_So... How's Orannis going to react when he finds out that Astarael knows what he's done? In case anyone's wondering, the idea for each of the Seven coming from a different world came from what Lirael saw in her Dark Mirror: 'Six times Lirael saw a world destroyed. The seventh time it was her own world she saw.' And Yrael will be making an appearence at some point. _

_Please review! _


	5. Chapter 5

_Sorry I haven't updated this in a while - I've only just recovered from a rather serious case of writer's block. :P Once again, thanks to everyone who's reviewed! Here's chapter 5._

* * *

Chapter 5

As Astarael had expected, Orannis was still near the Red Lake when she saw him. She almost called out to him, but then she stopped herself; if he really was planning to destroy the world, he was more likely to act in a suspicious way if did not think she was there. Orannis, however, had seen her flutter overhead beforehand, and was wondering why she was suddenly so reluctant to come near him. He had some idea already, but decided to feign ignorance to discover exactly what she knew.

'You are back quickly,' he remarked, turning to face Astarael and forcing the most pleasant smile he could manage across his face.

Astarael nodded, but found that she couldn't quite meet his gaze.

'Is everything alright?' Orannis asked, walking to her and placing an arm around her shoulders. 'You do not look particularly happy. Have you had another argument with your friends?'

Astarael shook her head. 'No, not really.'

Orannis walked her to the lake's shore and sat her down on the grass. 'What's wrong?'

Astarael stared at the ground in front of her, trying to come up with the best way to word her response. Eventually, she decided to get straight to the point.

'Did you know Saraneth?'

'Yes,' Orannis answered, after a slight hesitation.

'Did you love her?'

'Yes.' He knew there would be no point in denying it.

'Oh.' Astarael had to take a deep breath before asking her next question. 'If... if you loved her, why did you destroy the world she was meant to protect?'

Orannis didn't answer for a while; an idea was slowly forming in his mind – one that should keep Astarael on his side. A harsh idea, but maybe a necessary one.

'Is that what she told you?' he asked, watching Astarael's expression intently. 'That I destroyed her world?'

'Yes,' Astarael answered quietly. 'I just want to know why you did it.'

'I didn't,' Orannis replied flatly. 'It seems that she has got things a little mixed up. You see, it was the other way round. _She_ destroyed _my_ world.'

Astarael stared at him, shocked. 'Your world? Why?'

Orannis shrugged. 'I don't know. You would have to ask her.'

'But... but she wouldn't!' Astarael protested. 'She would never do something like that!'

'And you think that I would?'

'No, I... I didn't mean that. I can't imagine either of you doing it.'

'Neither could I, until it happened,' Orannis replied carefully. 'I didn't see it coming, but then everything was gone and she just left.'

'And now she's here...' Astarael whispered. She shook her head, blocking out the small part of her that wanted Orannis to be telling the truth. 'No, she's not like that.'

'She is,' Orannis insisted. 'Believe me.'

Astarael stared back at the ground. 'I don't want to believe you, but I didn't want to believe her either. How am I supposed to know who is telling the truth?'

'You already know,' Orannis whispered in her ear while his fingers wove something into her dark hair. Astarael turned to see what he was doing and she caught a hint of a pleasant, herbal aroma that she recognised quickly: it was rosemary. She breathed the scent in again, feeling it wash over her, and then she leaned her head against Orannis' shoulder, a faint smile appearing on her face.

* * * * * * *

'If Orannis was the one responsible for destroying your worlds, why have you been encouraging Astarael's relationship with him?' Saraneth asked.

'None of us ever knew his real name,' Ranna explained. 'We never spoke to him or saw him when he was in our worlds. None of us even detected him. There was no sign of anything evil or dangerous, and then everything suddenly burst into flames. We referred to him as the Destroyer in the few times that we've talked about what happened.'

'How did you all survive?' Saraneth asked. 'His power can destroy everything; even beings like us.'

'It was luck,' Belgaer replied. 'Purely luck. We happened to be flying at the time. If we had been on the ground we would have burnt too. We are guessing that he has destroyed other worlds besides ours, but their protectors weren't as lucky as us.'

'So, what do we do about him?' Dyrim asked. 'We cannot just sit around here and do nothing. He's going to do the same to Astarael.'

'I agree,' added Kibeth. 'As I have said before: it's always better to be doing.'

'What can we do, though?' Mosrael asked. 'None of us could stop him before, and our powers grow weaker now that our worlds are gone.'

'We were on our own then,' Saraneth answered. 'He may be stronger than each of us individually, but we might have a chance if we all stand together.'

'What about Astarael?' Kibeth asked. 'She refuses to hear a word against him.'

'She'll have to believe us,' Dyrim replied confidently. 'Especially now we're all against him. She is the protector of this world, so it will only be natural for her to side with us.'

'How exactly are we going to stop him?' Belgaer asked. 'What could possibly have any notable effect on him? As you said earlier, he's stronger than us.'

'We need to use something that opposes the very substance he's made from,' Saraneth answered.

'Something that opposes Free Magic?' Ranna queried. 'But we're Free Magic beings too.'

'I know. That is why we would have to connect ourselves with it, so it worked with us rather than against us.'

'What would we have to connect ourselves to?' asked Dyrim. 'You haven't actually told us what it is that you're talking about.'

'A different kind of magic,' Saraneth replied. 'A Charter, in a way. One that describes life: everything living, everything that has lived, and possibly everything that ever will live. Everything he hates. I've been working on it ever since I arrived here, so I know it will work.'

'A different kind of magic?' Kibeth asked. 'Can you show us?'

Saraneth nodded and her fingers drew a strange-looking symbol in the air in front of her. It hovered there for a few seconds, illuminating the room with a faint golden glow, and then it faded into nothingness.

'That was the spell for light. It doesn't last for long enough, and it needs to be brighter, but that's the general idea,' she explained. 'We use Free Magic to create marks, like the one I showed you. We need to make a mark for anything, so it's complete, and that may take a fair amount of time, but with all of us involved it should not take as long as I had originally thought.'

'It could stop Orannis destroying this world?' asked Ranna.

'If we use it right, yes.'

They decided that this was worth trying, and once Saraneth had explained and demonstrated exactly how she had managed to create marks out of Free Magic, each of them started to work on their own set of marks to describe anything that came into their minds, including Belgaer's slightly odd idea of marks that described other marks.

By the time Astarael arrived back at the mountain, they were all completely engrossed in their work. Astarael watched them for quite a while, trying to work out what they were doing, her hand unconsciously touching the sprig of rosemary in her hair. None of them noticed her.

'Belgaer, what is the point of that one?' Dyrim asked, laughing as the series of marks Belgaer had just drawn combined with each other and exploded, making water fall from a patch of the stone ceiling in a sudden downpour that soaked them both.

'It is rain,' Belgaer answered, as if it were obvious. 'Now I need to come up with a mark or two that stops it.' She glanced up to see if anyone else had been drenched, and spotted Astarael in the doorway.

'Astarael!' she exclaimed. 'You're back!'

'What are you doing?' Astarael asked, suddenly nervous as six pairs of eyes fixed on her.

'We're creating a new type of magic that will stop Orannis destroying your world,' Kibeth explained cheerfully. 'Saraneth has been teaching us what to do.'

Astarael narrowed her eyes in Saraneth's direction as her mind leaped to a conclusion: Saraneth had the others completely in her control.

'We had it wrong, Astarael,' Mosrael said gently. 'We heard what Saraneth told you, about him destroying her world, and we realised that he did the same to our worlds as well.'

'It wasn't him,' Astarael whispered. No-one heard her.

'We shouldn't have encouraged you,' Dyrim added. 'Now we all know what he's done, we felt that we have to at least try and stop him doing the same to you.'

Astarael had to suddenly move as more water fell from the ceiling. She looked up and saw a few more strange marks glowing white above her head.

'Sorry,' Belgaer called from the other side of the room, trying to hide a grin. 'I was trying to see how far I could send that spell. You should have a go at making one.'

'No,' Astarael answered adamantly. The others stopped what they were doing and stared at her.

'Why not?' Kibeth asked. 'Do you not want to get rid of Orannis?'

'It's not him we need to get rid of,' Astarael answered, glaring at Saraneth. 'It's her.'

'What?' Saraneth asked, confused.

'I asked him if your story was true, and it wasn't,' Astarael said sharply, her voice growing gradually faster. 'He told me what really happened. Don't pretend that you don't know what I mean.'

'I _don't_know what you mean,' Saraneth answered.

'I know that it was the other way round,' Astarael continued, trying her best to sound intimidating but finding her voice was shaking. 'I know that _you_ were the one who destroyed _his_ world, and I know that you're here to do the same to mine. Now I find that you have done it to their worlds as well.'

'What?' Saraneth asked again. 'I don't know what he's told you, but I would never do something like that. You know I wouldn't.'

'I agree,' Ranna added, glaring back at Astarael. 'We all know she wouldn't. Has it occurred to you that he might be lying to you?'

'It did, actually,' Astarael replied shortly.

'And you still trust him more than us?' Dyrim asked. Astarael nodded firmly, and Dyrim shook her head. 'I can't believe you.'

'Then don't,' Astarael snapped. 'You will be the ones who look stupid when you realise that she has been lying to you. He told me this would happen; that she would make you all believe her while I wasn't here, and he was right.'

'She didn't make us believe her,' Ranna argued. 'We chose to, and we thought you would choose to as well.'

'Can you not see what he's doing to you?' Saraneth asked. 'He's making sure you don't do anything to stop him when he starts destroying this place, by pretending to love you. He did it to me too, so I know exactly why you trust him so blindly, but I also know how much it hurts to feel everything die like that. I don't want that to happen to you, Astarael, but it looks like you're welcoming it. I thought it was your responsibility to protect this world!'

'It is,' Astarael replied coldly.

'So, why are we having to do it for you?'

'You're not.'

'We are, by coming up with a way to defeat Orannis.' Saraneth stood up abruptly. 'If you don't want our help, then fine; you're on your own.' With that, she pushed past Astarael and quickly left the room. Ranna followed close behind, glaring at Astarael as she passed, and the others soon did the same.

'You can't walk away from me!' Astarael shouted after them. 'You can't leave me to deal with this on my own!'

'_We_were on our own,' Dyrim called over her shoulder. 'We offered you help, and you evidently don't want it, so what choice to we have? We might come back if you change your mind.'

* * *

_Yes, Astarael is being incredibly gullible. The bit where Saraneth explains about the Charter was really hard to write, so I hope it's ok._

_The rosemary thing was one of the lines from the books that inspired the whole underlying romance thing in this fic: 'Fidelity in love... With the flower that never fades. And you still say she is not there?' ~ Mogget, referring to Astarael when they are down the well. I actually bothered to look up the whole rosemary-fidelity thing, and apparently there was this theory that if you touched your lover with a sprig of rosemary, they'd be faithful to you. It seemed to fit with my story line, so I decided to put it in somewhere. Hopefully you think it makes sense (kind of)!_

_Anyway, please review!_


	6. Chapter 6

_Sorry it's been such a long wait for this chapter. I had a very severe case of writer's block. I have to thank my sister for helping me get this chapter started - for some reason, it didn't want to be written..._

_Anyway, thanks again to everyone who reviewed. I love you all!_

_Disclaimer: Regrettably, I still don't own any of the characters or places. I think I forgot to put the discclaimer on the last chapter. Oops... I didn't own anything in that one either._

* * *

Chapter 6

Orannis appeared only as a suddenly strong gust of wind as he made his way towards the mountains. The life that buzzed around him made him shudder, but he forced himself to ignore it for now; there was someone he needed to see before his destructive powers were unleashed.

Around a mile south of the mountains, as he ascended a hill that overlooked the Ratterlin river, Orannis saw two birds – a swan and a dove – readying themselves to land by the river's western bank, their feathers gleaming impossibly white in the afternoon sun. As they landed, both birds fluidly changed their forms to become two women. Then, the woman who had been the swan spoke:

'So, what was it that you wanted to show me, Ranna?'

Orannis froze. He could sense the dormant power lacing the woman's words and he instantly recognised her: Saraneth. Orannis' mind suddenly recalled the moment in which he had first seen her, and he noticed that she had chosen to clothe herself in the same deep blue dress she had worn then.

'This,' came the reply, and Orannis noted that this voice was also edged with power, albeit a softer, lighter power than Saraneth's. He watched as the other woman – Ranna – knelt lightly in the grass and sketched a series of glowing symbols that hovered in the air in front of her. She then gestured to the daisies that were scattered around her and the marks flew to the ends of her fingertips, where they seemed to melt into the ground. As she did this, more of these symbols, ones that formed a circlet woven into her golden hair, began to shine as brilliantly as the sun, and the daisies slowly closed their petals in a forced sleep.

'Is there a waking spell yet?' Saraneth asked, nodding approvingly at the sleeping daisies.

She got no answer, for Ranna's attention was no longer on the flowers. She had suddenly stiffened and was staring directly at the point from where Orannis was watching.

'Ranna?' Saraneth asked again. She was about to repeat her question when she also froze. Her dark eyes narrowed as they followed Ranna's gaze, and Orannis could instantly tell that he was not welcome. This, however, did not bother him and, as he slowly advanced on the two women, he resumed the human shape he took when he was with Astarael.

'Who is that?' Ranna whispered, without looking away from Orannis.

'Go back to the others,' Saraneth instructed under her breath. 'Let me speak with Orannis alone.'

A hint of anger flashed in Ranna's otherwise calm, grey eyes. 'That's Orannis?'

Saraneth nodded shortly. 'Go,' she repeated, and Ranna complied, wordlessly changing back into the shape of a dove and flying away. Neither Saraneth nor Orannis watched her go.

Orannis made his way down the hillside until he was standing opposite Saraneth. He could now see that she had a band of golden symbols running diagonally across her chest, and he momentarily wondered what they were for.

Neither of them blinked or looked away, as each was trying – and subsequently failing – to unnerve the other. Out of the corner of her eye, Saraneth noticed a small, grey moth flutter past, then double back on itself to settle inconspicuously on a blade of grass.

'What are you doing here?' Saraneth asked quietly, but not nervously.

Orannis' black eyes bore deep into hers as he answered, 'I was interested to know how my little story was received.'

'Astarael is the only one who believes it,' Saraneth answered icily.

Orannis raised one eyebrow sceptically. 'Your friends trust you so blindly?'

'They are not stupid,' Saraneth replied, 'and Astarael only believes you because she is so hopelessly in love with you.'

Orannis gave a short laugh. 'I know. I have her exactly where I want her – sitting in the palm of my hand – and it will stay that way all the time that she believes I return her love.'

'You don't return it?' Saraneth asked, feigning ignorance.

'Of course not,' Orannis answered, as though it were obvious. 'I can barely stand her.'

Saraneth saw the moth flutter its wings uncomfortably, and the corner of her mouth crept up in a secret smile. 'Why do you let her believe it then?'

'So she will not try to stand in my way when I destroy this world of hers.' Orannis knew that there was no point in keeping his true intentions from Saraneth. She would probably guess them anyway. 'I was also thinking of using her power instead of my own. That way, I would not have to wait for the lightning to restore me to my full power when I choose my next target. I was intending to use her friends' power for that purpose as well, but it seems that they are not quite as stupid as Astarael.'

'They also know that it was you who destroyed their worlds in the same way you destroyed mine.' Saraneth did not try to hide her satisfaction at Orannis' temporarily shocked expression. 'They all want to avenge their worlds, like I do. This world hasn't got one protector anymore; it has seven.'

'There is nothing that any of you can do that will stop me,' Orannis retorted confidently. 'This world will burn like the others did.' His eyes wondered to the chain of purple flowers around Saraneth's neck, and he smiled reminiscently. 'I see you still wear the amaranth I gave you.'

Saraneth also looked down at the flowers. 'They are the only things from my world that still survive.'

'You survived,' Orannis pointed out.

'I only survived because you protected me, and I have always felt guilty about it.'

'Why?'

'I could feel when anything in my world died,' Saraneth answered quietly, 'and the pain of feeling all those deaths at once hurt more than you could ever know. It still hurts now.'

'How could it have hurt?' Orannis asked. 'You were not particularly close to anything there.'

'It was my world,' Saraneth replied angrily. 'I was close to everything in it.' Orannis still evidently failed to understand, so Saraneth continued. 'What is it that you care about most, apart from yourself?'

Orannis looked her straight in the eyes. 'You.'

Saraneth made no visible reaction to his answer. 'Then imagine me, burning in front of you. Imagine that you were unable to do anything to stop it, no matter how hard you tried, and that you could feel all the pain that I was feeling.'

Orannis gave no reply; he was concentrating on blocking out the mental images of what Saraneth had jus described.

'I should have burned with it,' Saraneth added, so quietly that Orannis could only just hear her. 'I was stupid enough to trust you, and so I failed in my duties as its protector. I will not let you do the same to Astarael.'

'I will not save her like I saved you,' Orannis answered. As he spoke, the moth fluttered past him, its flight erratic, as though it were shaking with sobs.

'At least Astarael now knows the truth,' Saraneth said, her voice louder again.

'She was sure to find out sooner or later,' Orannis answered dismissively. He turned his gaze back to Saraneth and took one of her hands. 'When I start destroying this world, I will protect you again. That is a promise.'

Saraneth snatched her hand away from him. 'I will not let you.'

'Would you let me if I extended the offer to include your friend, Ranna?' Orannis asked, remembering what Astarael had said about their close friendship.

'I will not let you protect me, either,' Ranna announced, changing from her dove form and resuming her place beside Saraneth.

'I thought I told you to go back to the others,' Saraneth whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

'I did,' Ranna whispered back, 'but then Astarael arrived, crying, and I assumed that it had something to do with him.' She shot Orannis an angry glare.

'The answer is no,' Saraneth declared, looking back at Orannis. 'As I have already told you, we will stop you before you have a chance to destroy anything.'

'Have it your way,' Orannis snapped, 'but you will not be able to stop me. Even with that Charter of yours.'

Saraneth and Ranna froze and stared at him.

'How do you know about the Charter?' Saraneth demanded. 'I suppose Astarael told you?'

Orannis gave her a sly grin and shook his head. 'I have another source of information,' he answered. 'One who Astarael trusts enough to share all her knowledge with.'

'Yrael...' Saraneth and Ranna whispered simultaneously, looking at each other in horror. As Yrael was meant to assist Astarael in protecting her world, she frequently met with him and told him everything. There was no knowing how much Orannis now knew.

'Yes,' Orannis replied. 'He has been incredibly useful, and I think there is little chance of you persuading him to join with you.' He smiled triumphantly at Saraneth and Ranna again and added, 'I will await your attempts to stop me with baited breath.' Then, he turned and disappeared, once again existing as part of the wind.

'We have to find Yrael,' Saraneth decided as she stared after Orannis. 'He cannot be allowed to continue giving Orannis information about us.'

Ranna nodded. 'Astarael will know where to find him.'

'Let's go and speak with her,' Saraneth answered, transforming back into her swan form and taking off into the sky, Ranna following quickly behind.

Within minutes they spotted Dyrim, Belgaer, Mosrael and Kibeth, who all seemed to be making some effort to comfort Astarael. She had her head buried in Kibeth's shoulder and her whole body was shaking with sobs. As they neared the group, Saraneth and Ranna noticed that she now wore a bracelet of Charter marks on her right wrist.

'Is she alright?' Ranna asked cautiously.

Mosrael looked up at Ranna and nodded. 'She will be in time.'

'She has agreed to help us create the Charter,' Kibeth added, also looking up.

'Speaking of the Charter,' Saraneth replied grimly, 'Orannis knows about its existence. It is no longer secret from him.'

'How does he know?' Astarael asked, lifting her head from Kibeth's shoulder. 'I haven't mentioned it to him.'

'Yrael,' Saraneth replied flatly. 'He has been relaying information about us to Orannis.'

'What?' Belgaer asked. 'He cannot be on Orannis' side!'

'It would appear that he is,' Saraneth answered. 'We need to find him immediately and stop him telling Orannis anything more.' She looked down at Astarael. 'Do you know where he is now?'

Astarael nodded. 'I think so. I swear, I didn't know he was telling Orannis all of this.' _I thought it was only me who told him things like that_, she thought to herself, although she knew it would not have been wise to say that aloud.

'Never mind about that,' Saraneth answered. 'Bring him to us. We all need to have a word with him.'

'I will go with you,' Kibeth announced, helping Astarael to her feet.

'So will I,' Belgaer added. 'It has been a while since we last saw him.'

Saraneth nodded her approval, and watched the three of them leave in search of Yrael. Unnoticed by the others, she touched the silver ring on her finger, pouring silent Charter marks into the band.

* * *

_Ooh, Yrael's in a bit of trouble now... He's actually going to make an appearance in the next chapter!_

_Now that the Shiners are making the Charter, they've all got Charter marks somewhere on them, like the Dog's colllar. And there is a reason behind where I've chosen to put them too, so see if you can figure that out... Also, note the amaranth in this chapter - the 'flower that never fades' bit from the quote I put at the end of the last chapter. I thought I had to get that in there somewhere. ;-)_

_Anyway, please review! And hopefully, it won't be too long before the next update!_


	7. Chapter 7

_Sorry I haven't updated this in ages... I'm blaming a nasty combination of severe writer's block and an overload of college work (including uni applications). So much for it not being long til the next update..._

_Anyway, I hope I've got Yrael right in this chapter. The numerous attempts I've had at writing this chapter were mainly scrapped because I wasn't happy with how Yrael turned out so, with any luck, it's ok now. Please don't yell at me too much if it's not, though! _

Chapter 7

Before long, Astarael sensed Yrael's presence in a small forest, a few miles south of the mountains. She was not surprised to find him there – it was one of his favourite places to be, as it was a fair distance from any areas inhabited by 'that irritating race known as humans', as Yrael had once described them. As they neared the edge of the forest, Astarael turned to Kibeth and Belgaer.

'You should probably keep out of sight,' she whispered, as though Yrael was already within hearing distance. 'He will be suspicious if he sees you with me, seeing as he doesn't know that I've now joined the Charter.'

Belgaer nodded in agreement and promptly transformed into a large, pale brown owl, and flew to one of the few nearby trees that were not part of the forest proper. Kibeth, however, gave Astarael a pleading look.

'Kibeth, I need him to be on our side now,' Astarael said patiently, noticing the way that Kibeth's hazel eyes were glittering mischievously. 'I can't have you annoying him and making him angry like you've done in the past.'

Kibeth sighed sulkily and slowly assumed the shape of a large dog. Then, she trotted after Belgaer, her tail drooping. She was quite proud of the way she could instantly annoy Yrael. Astarael watched her go and, once Kibeth had disappeared in a clump of bushes close to Belgaer's tree, she continued into the forest.

'Yrael?' she called, her eyes scanning the dense thicket for him. 'Yrael, I need to speak with you.'

A nearby thorn bush suddenly crackled into flames and lines of white fire ran out from underneath it, merging together to form a blazing white, roughly human-shaped figure. Astarael watched as Yrael moved closer to her.

'Can you please use a fixed-flesh shape?' she asked. 'I know you hate it, but it makes you so much less conspicuous.'

Yrael sighed in irritation. 'If I must,' he muttered, and then he shrank a little, the flaming mass of his body changing into an unnaturally tall man with long, white-blonde hair. Astarael decided to compromise by growing to match his height, and she carefully hid her bracelet of Charter marks behind her back. Then, she recited the story that she had invented with the help of Kibeth and Belgaer.

'I think the others are planning something, and I think it is involving the Charter that I told you about before. I do not know exactly what it is, as they are keeping all details of it from me, but I am worried about it. I need you to come with me and help me try to find something out about it.'

'I suppose I must do as you wish,' Yrael replied reluctantly. 'Though you know how much I hate that mountain home of yours. It is so ridiculously cold.'

Astarael gave him a small, grateful smile and gestured for him to follow her back out of the forest. Yrael complied wordlessly, but stopped again after only a few yards and glared in the direction of some low bushes. Astarael stopped too, and momentarily closed her eyes as she realised that Yrael had sensed Kibeth's presence.

'I know you are there, Kibeth!' Yrael said loudly. 'There is no point in trying to hide!'

'Alright, you found me,' Kibeth answered, slowly emerging from the bushes, her tail dropping sheepishly. She grinned at Yrael, and then winked at Astarael. 'Where are you both going?'

'We were only talking,' Astarael replied quickly. 'We were not going anywhere in particular.'

'Why were you hiding?' Yrael asked, eyeing the collar of Charter marks around Kibeth's neck disapprovingly.

Kibeth flashed another grin at him. 'Because I am an inquisitive being,' she replied. 'Unfortunately, I didn't hear any of your conversation, so would you care to repeat it?'

'We were not talking about anything important,' Astarael answered, silently trying to tell Kibeth to go. 'Nothing that you need to know about.'

'I told you it wouldn't be anything interesting,' Kibeth called over her shoulder. The bushes behind her rustled a little and an annoyed-looking owl appeared, hovering just above Kibeth's head.

'You didn't have to give me away, though,' Belgaer grumbled, easily playing along with Kibeth's improvised story. 'I found their conversation quite interesting, actually.'

Yrael glared at Belgaer – or rather, at the Charter marks that encircled her feathery neck – and gave a warning growl. This, however, only prompted Kibeth to grin again, showing off her perfectly white, sharp teeth.

'She's only joking,' Kibeth said in a mock-patronising tone. 'She wasn't really listening to you. She's just trying to annoy you, Yrael.'

'And you, of course, are not,' replied Yrael, through gritted teeth.

'Exactly,' Kibeth answered innocently. Then, looking up at Belgaer, she added: 'We should probably go back now. The others might be needing us.' Belgaer nodded, and both she and Kibeth soon left.

'I hate that dog,' Yrael muttered, watching them until they were out of sight.

Astarael chose not to comment on that. 'We should wait here for a while before we follow them, just to make sure they do not see us.'

'There's a storm brewing in the south,' Yrael remarked, staring into the distance at a swirling mass of dark clouds.

Astarael followed Yrael gaze and nodded. As they watched, a bolt of lightning burst from the clouds and struck the ground. Another followed, then another, and another, all seeming to strike exactly the same spot. Frowning, Astarael turned to Yrael and saw that he was looking puzzled too.

'That is not a normal storm,' she said softly, as though thinking aloud. A further three lightning bolts struck in quick succession, still hitting that same spot. 'It's as though something is gathering the lightning, if that is possible.'

Yrael nodded slowly. 'Should we investigate?'

'Yes, after we have tried to find out what my friends are planning,' Astarael answered. 'I fear that that is the more important issue at the moment.'

With that, she began to lead Yrael north, towards the mountains.

* * * * * * *

As they made their way down to the heart of the mountains, Yrael glared constantly at the softly glowing Charter marks that lined their path. Astarael could sense his growing discomfort, and that reminded her to make sure that the Charter marks around her wrist remained hidden.

'Your friends certainly seem to like this Charter of theirs,' Yrael grumbled, visibly shuddering at the surge of Charter magic that came whenever Astarael opened a door.

'They do,' Astarael agreed, leading the way along a path that grew increasingly narrower as it descended, in keeping with the shape of the naturally-formed rift that walled the path on either side. 'We are almost there,' she added, hearing Yrael sigh as he saw the length of the path.

'Good,' Yrael muttered. 'I should have known it would be a long way. You and your friends always like to make things complicated…'

Astarael chose to comment on this, or any of the other things that Yrael continued to moan about. Presently, she heard the familiar, distant sound of fast-flowing water.

'I sincerely hope that is not a river I can hear,' Yrael said slowly, his continuous list of complaints finishing.

'I'm afraid it is,' Astarael replied. 'The Ratterlin's spring is –'

'I know!' Yrael interrupted, frowning as he saw the narrow stone bridge that crossing the raging water. 'You are not expecting me to cross it, I hope?'

'You have to,' Astarael answered patiently. 'That is the only way to reach our halls.'

'I hate water,' Yrael groaned, but Astarael didn't respond. She was already crossing the bridge, walking along the wet stone with ease.

Reluctantly, Yrael followed her and found himself in front of another door. He was about to make yet another complaint about water when he felt another surge of Charter magic. Not from the door this time, he realised, but from Astarael, who had lightly touched the door to open it. The marks around her wrist flared in answer to the door's guarding spell, but before Yrael could say or do anything, Astarael has ushered him through the door and it had slammed shut behind him.

Instantly, the roar of the river was cut off and Yrael found himself in a large, octagonal chamber. He could feel both Charter and Free magic in the room, mixing together in a strange, seemingly unnatural dance.

'What is the meaning of this?' Yrael hissed, turning to face Astarael, his green eyes flashing in anger.

'We have reason to believe that you have been relaying information about us to Orannis,' a cold voice declared from behind Yrael. 'Is this true?'

Yrael turned again and saw Saraneth standing a few paces away from him, her dark eyes fixing him with an intimidating stare. Ranna stood behind her, and Dyrim, Mosrael, Kibeth and Belgaer were emerging from an arched doorway in the opposite wall of the room. Once they had all passed through it, the doorway faded to just a silver outline, which then disappeared into nothing.

Fuming with the realisation that he had been tricked, Yrael returned Saraneth's glare, but gave her no response.

'Answer me,' Saraneth commanded.

'I do not deny it,' Yrael replied, unable to stop himself.

'Do you know what Orannis is ultimately planning to do?' Saraneth asked.

'Yes,' Yrael admitted. 'At least, in part. He is much better at keeping his plans to himself than you are.'

'Do his plans not bother you?' Saraneth asked. 'Do you not care that he plans to destroy all life in this world?'

'No,' Yrael answered shortly. 'Why should I care? If he succeeds, I will simply find another world to live in.'

'You are supposed to help Astarael protect this world from harm,' Saraneth snapped. 'That means standing against Orannis, not helping him.'

Yrael shot a snide glance at Astarael before answering. 'Should you not have told _her_ that?'

Astarael looked away, hiding her face behind the black curtain of her hair.

'Astarael has joined us in creating the Charter,' Ranna said calmly. 'She has agreed to help us defeat Orannis, and we have forgiven her for initially siding with him.'

'And you bring me here now to ask the same of me?' Yrael asked.

'We are offering you the choice, Yrael,' Belgaer answered, adopting a more friendly tone than Saraneth. 'Will you help us stop Orannis destroying this world, and others after it?'

'Or will you remain on his side?' Saraneth added icily.

'I am not on his side,' Yrael retorted, 'but neither am I on yours. It does not matter to me whether this world lives or dies.'

'Please, Yrael,' Astarael whispered, almost inaudibly.

'No,' Yrael answered, glaring at her. 'Now that you have my answer, I believe I will be leaving.'

'You will stay where you are,' ordered Saraneth, her words infused with power that prevented Yrael from moving. 'You are supposed to help Astarael protect this world, and that is what you will do.'

'I will do as I choose,' Yrael retorted. 'You cannot make me help her.'

'I can,' Saraneth replied, 'and I will.' She took a step towards him, unclenching the hand she had been hiding behind her back, and flipped a silver hoop over Yrael's head.

Immediately, Yrael reached up to remove it, but the Charter magic contained within the metal made him unable to touch it. Desperately, he grew more arms, but the ring constricted around his neck and started to slide downwards, and he soon lost the human shape he had previously held. The ring constricted further and Yrael let out a furious scream as he collapsed into a white mass on the ground, the silver ring and its ruby shining around the middle of his shapeless form.

'You will serve Astarael, as you were meant to,' Saraneth commanded, looking down coldly at Yrael. 'You will assist her in protecting this world whenever, and however, she wishes.'

The ring hummed in answer to Saraneth's words, and the ruby's colour spread to dye the whole band red. At the same time, Yrael shone brighter and changed shape. When his light faded again, a small white cat sat in front of Saraneth, glaring up at her. Around its neck was a collar of red leather, swarming with the Charter marks that described Saraneth's spell.

Yrael then directed his glare at Astarael, who stared down at the cat in shock. 'Well, _Mistress_, I will await your orders,' he spat. 'However, you will have to find me first.'

'Yrael…' Astarael started, but Yrael had already vanished. For a moment there was complete silence, but then Astarael looked at Saraneth.

'That was unfair!' she protested. 'He may not have chosen to side with us, but he is not siding with Orannis either!'

'If he is not helping us, he is against us,' Saraneth replied flatly. 'He had to be punished.'

Astarael's eyes narrowed. 'I hope you are not forgetting whose world this is. I should have been the one to decide what to do with Yrael, not you, and I say we should have let him go. He has done nothing wrong!'

'Nothing?' Saraneth repeated, her voice dangerously quiet. 'He has been telling Orannis about our Charter – our plan to defeat him – and you say that is nothing?'

'I would have done the same had I not over heard your conversation with him. Would you then have "punished" me in the same way?'

'You were planning to tell him?' Saraneth replied, a little louder than before. 'That makes you just as bad as him.' Finally snapping, she gave an exasperated laugh. 'It is a wonder that this world has survived as long as it has with the two of you "protecting" it.'

Astarael opened her mouth to give a sharp retort, but she lost her words in her anger. Instead, she reached out and grabbed the chain of amaranth flowers that hung around Saraneth's neck. With a vicious tug, she broke the chain and ran from the room, the magenta flowers trailing from her hand.

* * * * * * *

'Yrael!' Astarael called, for what seemed like the hundredth time. She had been searching for him for hours, looking everywhere she thought he might have gone, and she was now on the verge of tears. This place, the area near the Red Lake, was the last place she could thing of where Yrael might have gone. A slight movement caught her eye and she turned to see Yrael, perched on a tree branch a few paces away from her.

'What do you want now?' the cat sneered, his green eyes narrowing. 'To gloat, I suppose?'

Astarael looked up at him. 'No, I… I'm sorry, Yrael! I didn't know that Saraneth would do that to you!'

'Of course you didn't,' Yrael answered sarcastically. 'You brought me down there for no particular reason, and they all just happened to be waiting for us.'

'I knew they would be waiting,' Astarael admitted quietly, wiping the tears from her eyes. 'I thought they were only going to ask you to join us in standing against Orannis. I didn't know this would happen if you refused. I thought they would have accepted your decision, and that would have been all.'

'This Charter, of course, being the one you were allegedly opposed to them making,' Yrael muttered, still glaring.

'Yrael, we do need to defeat Orannis,' Astarael answered. 'It is our duty, after all, and I thought that you would help me.'

Yrael jumped nimbly down from his branch and started to change his form, becoming taller and more human-like. Then, when he was little more then waist-height compared to Astarael, he suddenly stopped, unable to grow any taller. Scowling in the direction of the mountains, he hissed: 'I hate you…' and stalked off.

Astarael watched the dwarf-like Yrael go. Once, she would have laughed at the look of outrage on his face, but she didn't feel able to laugh anymore. All she felt like doing now was crying. A tear escaped from one eye and, as she watched it splash to the ground, she found herself looking at the amaranth flowers in her hand. They were all Saraneth had left of her world, Astarael remembered, a terrible feeling of guilt rising in her. If Orannis wasn't defeated, she wouldn't have much left of her world either. Just that sprig of rosemary that was still woven into her hair…

'I wondered when you would come back to me,' said a voice from behind her; a menacing, dangerous voice that Astarael instantly recognised. Turning, and belatedly realising that she was standing right underneath the dark storm clouds that she and Yrael had seen earlier, Astarael saw Orannis standing only a few metres away, his eyes flickering with flames as he stared straight at her. A bolt of lightning burst from the clouds and struck him, and Astarael saw him smile as he felt the lightning's power racing through him.

'Come here,' Orannis instructed, his voice calm, but infused with a power that gripped Astarael and forced her closer to him, not matter how hard she tried to resist. Her mind screamed at her to run, fly, anything to get away from him, but she could feel Orannis controlling her now, and she knew there was nothing she could do.

'It seems that you have turned against me,' Orannis said slowly, looking briefly at the Charter marks around Astarael's wrist. 'That does not matter now. I have you exactly where I want you. You and your friends will never defeat me, even with your Charter. You can do nothing to stop me.'

Desperately, Astarael tried to think of a Charter spell that might possibly help her, but instead of feeling the presence of the Charter around her, all she could feel was Orannis' power tearing through her, slowly severing the connection she had with it. A burning pain shot through her; a terrible ripping sensation, as though she was being physically torn apart.

Then she sensed Free magic surge through Orannis, and the pain suddenly stopped. Before she could fully regain her senses, a column of twisting, raging fire shot from Orannis and roared upwards, climbing higher and higher as it turned the surrounding sky a bright blood-red.


	8. Chapter 8

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. It's nice to know you still bothered to read it even though it was posted a stupidly long time after chapter 6._

_Anyway, this chapter starts off about half-way through the last chapter, and the things that go on in this one are happening while Astarael is searching for Yrael. Hopefully that makes sense._

_I've forgotten to put a disclaimer on the past few chapters, but I didn't own any of the Nine then, and I still (unfortunately) don't. And, in the likely event of me forgetting to say it for the next chapter, I won't own any of them then either. _

* * *

Chapter 8

_Astarael opened her mouth to give a sharp retort, but she lost her words in her anger. Instead, she reached out and grabbed the chain of amaranth flowers that hung around Saraneth's neck. With a vicious tug, she broke the chain and ran from the room, the magenta flowers trailing from her hand_.

For a moment, Saraneth stared after her. One hand started to go unconsciously to her throat, as if checking that the amaranth necklace was truly gone, but she stopped it. There was a more pressing issue to deal with. Hardening her expression, she turned back to the others, choosing to ignore the tiny specks of fear now visible in their eyes.

'Should one of us go after her?' Dyrim asked tentatively, unsure of whether she should break the silence.

'I will,' Kibeth declared, before anyone had answered Dyrim's question. As she met no immediate objections, she walked to the door, asked it to open, and disappeared through it.

* * * * * * *

Outside the mountain, Kibeth looked around for any sign of Astarael. She found none, but that didn't necessarily surprise her. Astarael had a habit of disappearing completely when she wanted to be alone. She scanned the horizon, trying to decide where it would be best to start her search and, as she did so, she caught sight of the black storm clouds swelling far away in the south. Something stirred in the back of her memory as she saw five bolts of lightning flash down from the clouds, and the realisation of what that memory was had an immediate effect. In an instant, Kibeth had sprinted back inside the mountain, down the winding steps, and burst back through the door, making the others jump.

'Did you find her?' Belgaer asked.

'Does it look like it?' Kibeth replied, giving her a withering look. 'There was no sign of her, but I think we need to be stopping Orannis right now. He is gathering the lightning already, somewhere near the Red Lake.'

There was a stunned silence as they all digested this news, and then Saraneth spoke.

'I will need to teach you the spell we will have to use,' she announced as calmly as she could. 'It will require all of us in order to work. It would be better if Astarael was with us as well, but I don't think we have the time to find her.'

'A single spell will stop him?' Ranna asked doubtfully.

'Yes, but only for a short time while he is whole. To make it a permanent binding, we need to break him too. And for that,' she added, looking at Belgaer, 'I will need a sword.'

Belgaer nodded slowly. 'Does it need to be a specific type of sword?'

'It needs to be Charter-spelled, but that is all for now,' Saraneth replied.

Belgaer nodded again and went to the far wall of the room. She spoke a short Free Magic spell, and lines of golden fire traced the outline of a doorway into the stone. Then, she pushed open the door and closed again it behind her, the golden outline melting back into the wall.

After only a few minutes, Belgaer returned, carrying a long sword in one hand, the blade shining silver with the Charter marks that swam over and through the metal. She crossed the room and handed the sword to Saraneth.

'Is that alright?'

Saraneth looked at the weapon and nodded. 'It's perfect,' she answered, taking it from Belgaer and gesturing for the others to move closer to her. 'Now, each of us must add part of ourselves to the blade,' she explained.

Ranna held out her hand first and rested her palm gently on the metal. For a couple of seconds, her hand shone a blinding white and she spoke the master Charter mark that described herself. The matching marks woven into her hair glowed gold in recognition, and then everything returned to normal.

Without a word, Saraneth held the sword out to Mosrael. Unlike Ranna, Mosrael didn't immediately place her and on the blade. Instead, she looked at Saraneth with an almost pleading look in her eyes, as though she was silently asking to be excluded from this part of the proceedings. Saraneth eyed Mosrael with a look that clearly did not invite arguments, and raised her eyebrows a fraction. Reluctantly, Mosrael laid her palm on the sword's blade. Her hand shone white, she spoke her mark, and her circlet of silver Charter marks shone in answer.

Saraneth then offered the blade to Kibeth, then to Dyrim, and then to Belgaer, all of whom complied without any hesitation. Finally, Saraneth rested her own palm on the blade and spoke her Charter mark. Once the glow of the marks across her chest had faded, she looked down at the silver, which was now swarming with several times more Charter marks than before.

'And now for the spell itself,' she said quietly, still staring down at the sword, seemingly mesmerised by the constant dance of Charter marks on its silver surface. Eventually looking up from it, Saraneth told them the Charter marks they would each need to use, and the words they would need to say. The others absorbed the information silently, although they all noticed how Mosrael was now refusing to look any of them in the eye.

Once Saraneth had finished explaining the spell she looked back down at the sword in her hand, seeing the reflection of the seven stars Ranna had painted on the ceiling a few months ago. Then, Charter marks obscured the image, and she sighed.

'We need to go,' she announced firmly, and she led the way out of the room and out of the mountain.

* * * * * * *

They flew as fast as they could, south from the icy mountains, towards the storm clouds that told them where Orannis was. Each bolt of lightning that burst from the clouds seemed to be counting away the time they had left to get there: they all knew what would happen when the lightning stopped. All six of them repeated the spell they had been taught over and over in their minds, and Saraneth carried the sword in long, talon-like claws that no normal swan would have.

After what felt like an age, they reached the Red Lake. Hurriedly changing back into their human forms, Saraneth started to lead them forwards. She could see Orannis standing by the eastern shore of the lake, and her eyes widened in surprise as she also saw Astarael standing only a few metres away from him.

'The lightning has stopped,' Ranna whispered from behind her, and Saraneth noticed that she was right.

Only a second later, a column of bright red fire burst from Orannis and shot upwards into the clouds. Saraneth stared at it, and then back at Astarael. She had expected to see her running or flying away from Orannis, but she wasn't. She was still standing there, doing nothing, as though she didn't realise the danger she was in.

Saraneth pushed the hilt of the sword into Belgaer's hand and broke into a run, calling 'protect yourselves!' over her shoulder as she did so. Her mind was already counting down the few seconds she knew she had to reach Astarael, the seconds that were passing all too quickly. Nine seconds. That was all.

* * *

_Only one chapter to go now! And I'll warn you in advance: one of the Seven will die at the end of it. Feel free to guess who it's going to be, but I won't tell you if you're right or not. You'll have to wait till I post the next chapter to find that out. ;-) _


	9. Chapter 9

_Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! _

_Well, this is the final chapter! It took me a while to make sure I had all the little details about the binding right (I swear those pages from Abhorsen are about to fall out), so hopefully I haven't missed anything out, and I hope you like it! And please don't eat me if the character death isn't what you expected... _

_I've decided to post this on my 19__th__ birthday, because... well, because I felt like it. :P_

* * *

Chapter 9

Astarael was not aware of anything other than pain until Saraneth collided with her, pushing her to the ground and casting a protective Charter spell around them both. The burning sensation that was coursing through her body abruptly ended, and she tried to remember where she was. She felt as though she had just woken from a dream-like state of semi-consciousness.

At the same time, Orannis glowed brighter and brighter, confidently surveying his surroundings and imagining how the land would look once he had finished with it. Only a second later, a white-hot explosion burst from his glowing form, obliterating anything and everything in its path. The Red Lake instantly evaporated, trees burned to nothing, and the rocky earth itself turned black and charred.

Saraneth and Astarael slowly stood up, and Astarael stared in shock at the burnt wasteland that surrounded her. She had felt every living thing in the area die, and she hadn't been prepared for how much it had hurt. Saraneth lead her silently to join with the others, and Astarael gave no resistance. Her whole body felt numb now.

'Teach her the spell,' Saraneth told Belgaer, 'and give me the sword.'

Belgaer did as she was told and passed the sword to Saraneth before repeating the binding spell to Astarael, who was struggling to stop herself crying. Saraneth looked at the blade for a moment and then sighed heavily.

'Give me your hand,' she said to Astarael, who obediently held her left hand out. Saraneth touched the blade to Astarael's palm and muttered a Charter mark. Astarael's palm shone blue-white for a moment, as did the marks around her wrist, and a small fragment of light broke away from her and dissolved into the Charter-spelled blade. Saraneth ran her hand slowly over the metal, and then led the way towards Orannis.

'Make a circle around him,' Saraneth instructed, placing Astarael between herself and Ranna so they could both keep an eye on her. The others spread themselves out to form a rough circle around Orannis.

'You are all fools,' Orannis said, his voice quietly threatening. He was no longer glowing. Instead, his whole body seemed to be made of darkness, save for the occasional line of fire swimming through him. 'You know that you do not stand a chance against me, even now you stand together. I will destroy this world, and all of you with it!' He turned to face Saraneth. 'My offer still stands.'

'As does my answer,' Saraneth replied coldly. She looked sideways at Astarael and nodded, giving the cue for Astarael to begin the binding spell.

Astarael hesitated for a moment, and she closed her eyes, unable to look at Orannis.

'I am Astarael,' she said softly, 'and I stand against you.' Her shaking fingers drew her Charter mark in the air in front of her, where it hovered, glowing faintly.

Saraneth nodded at her again, and then turned to face Orannis herself. 'I am Saraneth, and I will always stand against you.' She flicked the tip of her sword to draw her own mark in front of her.

'I am Belgaer, and I stand against you.'

'I am Dyrim, and I stand against you.'

'I am Kibeth, and I stand against you.'

'I am Mosrael, and I stand against you.'

'I am Ranna, and I stand against you.'

Then, Ranna started singing. Mosrael joined in soon after, followed by Kibeth, then Dyrim, then Belgaer, and then Saraneth, all of them singing of life, of the Charter.

Astarael wavered as she smelled the rosemary again and part of her told her to stop what she was doing and stand with Orannis instead. Her tears welled up as she fought against herself and they finally spilled over as she added her voice to the others', weaving a lamentation into the song.

As the singing continued, the Charter marks flared bright silver with the power that each of the Seven was pouring into it, and then spread out to join with the adjacent marks on either side, forming a shining ring that was in stark contrast to the dark figure of Orannis.

Through her song, Saraneth called out the rest of the binding spell and the ring constricted a little. The Seven stepped forward with it, advancing one step at a time, tightening their own ring at the same time as the Charter-spelled one in front of them. The force of the spell made Orannis' form darken even more, the flames vanishing as the Free Magic substance he was made of collapsed in on itself to form a sphere that was as black as coal.

'Impossible,' Orannis growled as the sphere started to take on a silvery sheen that appeared to harden almost as soon as it appeared, becoming metal.

Saraneth gripped the hilt of her sword in her hand as she stepped closer along with the others. It seemed strangely heavy as she lifted it and rested the blade on her shoulder.

'No sword can harm me,' Orannis taunted, still trying to break free of the binding silver that now fully encased him.

'This one can,' Saraneth replied firmly.

With that, she raised the sword above her head and brought it down on the sphere with all the force she could find, white sparks blazing upwards as the sword hit the metal, accompanied by a terrible shriek. The singing faltered, and then stopped completely, the singers distracted.

As Saraneth drove her sword through the sphere, Orannis sent a blast of fire up the blade, melting it, and then into Saraneth. She winced as the flames hit her, but she refused to scream. She could feel Orannis in the heat, directing the last remnant of his power in the only way it could go: through the last physical bridge he had with anything, and into her. The pain intensified and Saraneth briefly considered letting go of the sword, but she made herself hold on. If she let go now, he may still have the power to escape the binding sphere.

The sword finally broke through the sphere and, in the last moments that he was still whole, kept so by what was left of the sword between the two hemispheres, Orannis forced more heat and fire into Saraneth, mixing it this time with his anger at the realisation that the Seven had managed to defeat him. This wave of flames hurt more than the first, and a scream was finally torn from Saraneth's lips.

On hearing her scream, Ranna tried to run towards her, but Mosrael quickly caught her around her waist and held her back.

'Let me go!' Ranna protested, trying frantically to fight her off.

'I can't, I'm sorry,' Mosrael cried. 'I promised!'

A final surge of flames surrounded Saraneth, and the hemispheres were thrown apart. One landed just behind Ranna and the other behind Dyrim, and the impact sent more dust into the cloudy air.

Ranna finally managed to break away from Mosrael and, before the dust had time to settle, she was running to the centre of the circle, where Orannis had been. The other five found that they could only stand still and watch. The sound of Saraneth's scream had rooted them to the ground.

Ranna half-knelt, half-collapsed beside Saraneth, who was lying on her back where the sphere had been, the mangled remains of the sword by her side. Ranna clutched both of Saraneth's hands desperately, and Saraneth's eyes opened slowly.

'We did it,' she smiled weakly. 'It's over.'

'It's over,' Ranna repeated, but she still looked worried. She reached into the Charter for the marks for healing.

'Ranna, stop,' Saraneth said gently. 'Charter spells won't help me. Nothing will. I...' she paused and bit her lip, unsure of how to finish. 'I have to leave you now.'

Ranna stared at her for a moment, shocked. 'No! You can't!' she cried, tears suddenly springing into her eyes.

'I have to,' Saraneth whispered. 'I'm sorry.'

'But we need you!'

'No, you don't,' Saraneth answered, with a small laugh. 'We did what we had to do. This world is safe, and so are many others. It is my time to go now.' A single tear rolled down her cheek. 'Goodbye, Ranna.'

Then, she was gone, and Ranna was left clutching only the dusty air in front of her. She blinked and her unshed tears escaped, silent at first, but then Ranna's hands dropped down to her lap and she began to shake with helpless, heartbroken sobs.

* * * * * *

Astarael couldn't remember much of the journey back to the mountains. She was dimly aware that none of the others had returned to the mountains with her, and that Ranna had flown away before anyone could speak to her, but everything else was a blur, both in her mind and her eyes, which were still overflowing over with seemingly never-ending tears.

Back in her private room, all she could do was throw herself down on her bed and sob, an overwhelming sense of guilt building up inside her. After a while, she became conscious of the fact that she still held the amaranth flowers in one hand. The vibrant magenta flowers seemed too bright for the grey coldness that was filling her, but they were also oddly comforting. She looked at them and thought about laying them carefully on the table next to her bed, but she couldn't bring herself to let go of them.

The flowers brought another thought back into her mind: that sprig of rosemary still entangled in her hair. Its sweet aroma brought back unwanted memories of Orannis, so she felt for the herb and tugged at it. She felt it come free and she threw it from her, then turned away from it to look back at the amaranth.

In the darkness of her room, she didn't see the rosemary catch once again in the ends of her hair. It refused to be thrown away, no matter how much Astarael ignored it.

* * *

_So, that's the end, people! Actually, I can't believe I've finished this – I don't have a particularly good record when it comes to finishing stories... I quite liked how this fic divided itself rather neatly into nine chapters too. Nine chapters, nine Shiners... Funny how these things randomly happen. Lol_

_Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading it, and I hope this chapter was a good enough ending. I've got a slightly random Christmas fic in progress at the moment, which I'll post (surprise, surprise) at Christmas, and I'm working on a sequel to this, involving the Great Charters and the like, which I'll probably start posting early next year, so look out for those!_

_As always, let me know what you thought of this chapter, and of the story as a whole. Thanks for reading!_


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